Markets & Finance

Treasuries Finish Little Changed

May 27, 2002

Treasuries ambled aimlessly through Tuesday's session, with the curve bowing in deference to the record $27 billion glut of two-year paper on Wednesday. Personal income (+0.3%) and spending (+0.5%) were not threatening, but the rest of the data was not that overtly friendly.

Yet, rumors earlier in Europe had already pumped up May consumer confidence as high as 114. The result was a somewhat more tame 109.8, albeit above 108.5 in April, and the "expectations" sub-index actually declined modestly -- giving Treasuries a lift initially. Existing home sales surged 7% in April to a 5.79 million unit pace.

Random equity rumors were are stealth motivator in favor of the long-end, amid talk that President Bush had prematurely ended his NATO summit, by implication to deal with some emergency. Between this rumor, the confidence disappointment, the long weekend, Merrill Lynch's cautionary tone on Intel, and UBS Warburg's downgrade of Home Depot, equities slumped before regaining some composure into the close.

The June bond closed down a tick at 101-15 after finding support at 101-00 and resistance at 101-26, while the two-year note and 30-year bond spread narrowed basis points to +242 basis points.